Heel and its attachment to shoes



- July 7, 1 942.

G. HAZELTON ETAL HEEL; AND ITS ATTACHMENT To SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1942- G. HAZELTON-ETAL 2,288,700

HEEL AND ITS ATTACHMENT TO SHOES 7 Filed March 23, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 7, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEEL AND ITS ATTACHMENT TO SHOES Application March 23, 1940, Serial No. 325,636 In Great Britain April 5, 1939 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in methods of operating upon heels so as to prepare them to be interfitted with attached soles of shoes.

In the method of shoemaking described in British Letters Patent No. 412,599, a heel consisting of superimposed leather lifts is trimmed and scoured to its final shape before its attachment to a shoe having a short outsole. One type of neat and strong joint between the heel and the outsole is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,027,431, granted January 14, 1936, :1 aln application filed in the name of l-lazelton e a.

It has been found that when the lateral marins of the attached sole of a shoe have been materially reduced in thickness and said sole and the heel of the shoe have been trimmed as illustrated in said Letters Patent No. 2,027,431,

the dilierences in thickness between the median and the marginal portions of the outsole located rearwardly of the heel breast line tend to prevent the end portions of the groove formed .in the heel from being forced into snug engagement with the sole with the result that unsightly gaps are formed at the upper forward portions of the sides of the heel where the outsole margins do not fill the groove. This is especially .true where the breast of the heel is sharply incurved widthwise or the heel and the V-shaped teeth of a tubular cutter, disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,116,627, granted May 10, 1938, on an application filed in the name of Hazelton, penetrate the margins of the heel breast deeper than they penetrate the central portion of the heel breast and accordingly, form a groove, the end portions of which are wider than the central portions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved joint between a heel and a shoe in which the rear end portion of the outsole of .the shoe is received in a groove in the breast of the heel, but in which gaps such as above referred to are avoided even though the margins of the outsole may have been materially reduced as compared with the .thickness of the outsole at its middle portion.

In order that the central portion of a groove of the general type above described may be made at least as wide as the end portions of such groove so as to accommodate the beveled rear end of an attached sole having its margins reduced, we insert in accordance with a method aspect of the invention a matrix plate of a predetermined shape in the groove which has been cut in the breast of the heel, and then exert pressure against the tread and attaching faces of the heel to mold the heel material adjacent to the groove in such a manner that when the matrix plate is removed the separation between the sides of the groove at its middle portion is increased and is at least as great as or even slightly greater than the separation between the sides of the groove at its end portions. The heel is then placed on the shoe with the groove embracing the beveled rear end of the attached outsole of the shoe. Expansion of the middle portion of the groove by the plate enables the thicker portion of the outsole to be satisfactorily received within the groove without preventing the sides of the groove from being forced snugly against the marginally reduced portions of the outsole during the heel attaching operation and insures the maintenance of a snug relation between the parts in the finished shoe. A firm and reliable joint may, therefore, be obtained without any unsightly gaps being visible at the sides of the heel where the outsole is received in the groove.

The above and various other features of the invention will be understood and appreciated from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows in perspective the rear end portion of an attached 'sole of a shoe in the process of bein reduced by the use of a machine or the general type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,204,676, granted June 18, 1,940, on an application filed in the name of Hazelton;

.Fig. 2 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the rear end of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 1 after the rear end portion of its sole has been reduced;

Fig. 3 is a section of the sole of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 2 on line III.III.;

Fig. 4 is a front view, partly broken away, of a built-up leather heel in the breast of which a sole receiving groove has been formed by the use of a machine disclosed in United StatesLetters Patent No. 2,116,627., gran-ted May 10, 1938,

on an application filed .in the name of Hazelton;

Fig. 4a is a perspective view of .the upper right portion of the heel shown in-Fig. 4;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the heel shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side view, partly .brokenaway and partly in section, .of an illustrative machine in the process of molding the groove of the heel shown in Figs. 4 and Au, to the form shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 7 shows in perspective a molding plate of the machine illustrated in Fig. 6;

Figs. 8 and 9 are sections on lines VIII-VIII and IX-IX of Fig. '7

Fig. 10 is a front View, partly broken away, showin the heel of Fig. 4 after its groove has been molded by the machine shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the heel end of the shoe of Fig. 2 after the heel of Fig. 10 has been attached thereto and the reduced rear end portion of the sole of the shoe has been trimmed flush with the sides of the heel.

The invention is described with reference to removing material from the rear end portion 20 (Figs. 1 and 2) of an attached sole 22 of a shoe 24 by a beveling cut to provide a reduced rear end portion 26 (Figs. 2 and 11) and forming in the breast 28 of a built-up leather heel 36 to be attached to the shoe a groove 32 (Fig, 10) which is so shaped and arranged that when the heel is positioned upon the shoe it will receive th reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole of the shoe and form therewith a strong and durable joint of neat appearance, such as shown in Fig. 11.

Prior to attaching the sole 22 to the shoe 24 the lateral margins 34 of the sole are commonly beveled by skiving material from the flesh or inner side of the sole, in the case of compo work, for example, or from the base of a channel (not shown) when the sole is channeled for receiving stitches for attachment of the sole to the shoe bottom. The effect of said marginal reduction of the sole is such that the thickness of the sole at its lateral margins is about one-half the thickness of the central portion of the sole, as best shown in Fig. 3. The reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole is beveled at its flesh side from a line 36 (Figs. 2 and 11) rearwardly, after the attachment of the sole to the shoe, by the use of the above-mentioned machine disclosed in said Patent No. 2,204,676, the machine comprising a wedge-shaped plate 49 (Fig. 1) for supporting the rear end portion 20 of the attached sole of the shoe, and a knife 42 which cuts through the sole from the tread surface to the flesh surface of the same along an inclined path 44 extending past the edge 46 of a channel 48 formed in th wedge-shaped plate 40.

The wedge-shaped plate 40 should effectively support the rear end portion 26 of the sole 22 while the knife 42 is making its beveling out. If the plate 40 were to have a flat, serrated sole supporting surface, as is desirable when the sole is of uniform thickness, it will be appreciated that the plate would not effectively support the beveled margins 34 of the sole, and consequently, the knife 42 would not begin its out along a straight line 50 (Fig. 1) extending transversely across the full width of the sole. With the foregoing in View, the wedge-shaped plate 40 has secured to it a pair of packing blocks 52 which are arranged to underlie and support the beveled margins 34 of the rear end portion of the sole of the shoe, each of the packing blocks having an inwardly beveled face 54. Moreover, the packing blocks 52 have beveled faces 56, respectively, arranged to provide sufficient clearance for the knife 42 to make its cutting stroke without fouling said blocks. The beveled faces 56 are less inclined to the horizontal than is the path of movement 44 of the knife 42 and, accordingly, the knife does not emerge through th marginal portion of the sole until it does so simultaneously across the full width of the sole along the line 36, which, during the trimming operation, is coincident with the edge 46 of the Wedge-shaped plate 40. With the above arrangement, the margins of the reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole are not entirely uniformly tapered but the divergence from uniformity is sufficiently slight to be ignored for practical purposes.

The three upper lifts of the heel are commonly made of plywood, the remaining lifts, with the exception of the leather tread end lift, being made of pulp or leatherboard. The heel is trimmed and scoured to its final shape before its attachment to the shoe by use of the machine disclosed in said British Letters Patent No. 412,599. It will be appreciated that if desired the upper lifts or all the lifts of the heel may be made of leather.

As will appear later, the sole receiving groove 32 (Fig. 10) is formed in the breast of the heel in two steps, the groove 58 (Fig. 4) first being formed in the breast 22 of the heel 24 by the use of the grooving machine disclosed in said Letter Patent No. 2,116,627, the groove later being molded to a predetermined shape in accordance with the shape of the redued rear end portion 26 of the attached sole of the shoe to which the heel is to be attached. The groove 58 (Fig. 4) is V-shaped in cross section, a lip 66 being formed between the upper side of the groove and the forward portion of an attaching face 62 of the heel. The groove 58 extends from one side of the heel to the other and is concave upwardly, the lower side of the groove 58 being approximately parallel to the adjacent overlying portion of the attaching face 62 of the heel, as in the case of the lower side of the groove formed in the heel described in said Letters Patent No. 2,027,431, the angle between the sides of the groove 58 being somewhat less than the angle between the sides of the groove of the heel illustrated in said Letters Patent. The line along which the upper side of the groove 58 intersects each side of the heel passes approximately through an adjacent upper breast corner of the heel, as shown in Figure 4a.

The machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,116,627 has a tubular cutter (not shown) comprising teeth which project in the direction of the axis of rotation of the cutter, the teeth being of tapering cross section in accordance with the desired cross section of the groove to be formed in the heel. It will be noted that the breast 28 of the illustrated heel 36 is concave widthwise (Fig. 5) and, accordingly, when the heel is presented to the above-mentioned cutter the depth of the groove 58 will not be uniform since the bottom 64 (Fig. 5) of the groove extends in a straight line from one side of the heel to the other whereas the groove emerges in the transversely incurved breast 28. In view of the fact that said tubular cutter does not penetrate the median portion of the heel breast 28 as deeply as it penetrates the lateral margins of said breast, the groove 58 formed by the cutter is widest at its lateral margins and narrowest at its median portion, as shown in Fig. 4.

It will be noted at this point that when the completed heel 36, illustrated in Fig. 10, is positioned upon the shoe, the reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole fits in the groove and the breast of the heel will lie along a heel breast line 66 (Figs. 2 and 11). The central part of the reduced rear end portion 26 is considerably thicker than adjacent margins of said portion, but because of the fact that the reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole tapers in thickness toward its rear end, the cross sectional shape of the sole along the breast line 66 will be such that the sole is not substantiall thicker at the middle portion of the line than it is at the ends of the line.

As above stated, in order to insure that the difference in thickness between the median and the marginal parts of the reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole shall not prevent the end portions of the groove of the finished heel from being forced into snug engagement with the sole, the groove 58 (Fig. 4) formed by the abovementioned tubular cutter is subjected to a molding operation to provide the groove 32, shown in Fig. 10. Comparing the grooves 58 and 32, shown in Figs. 4 and 10, respectively, it will be noted that the groove 58, as above stated, is considerably wider at its end portions than at its central portion, and the groove 32 is slightly wider at its central portion than at its end portions, the change in shape of the groove being effected by lowering the middle portion of the lower side of the groove 58.

The heel 35, illustrated in Fig. 4, is molded to change the form of its groove 58 by the use of a machine comprising a supporting plate 68 (Fig. 6) having a convex face Til shaped and arranged to be engaged by the attaching face 62 of the heel, and a bifurcated gage I2 for positioning the heel upon said plate. The gage 12 is carried by a yoke 14 which is pivoted upon coaxially arranged fulcrum pins 16 threaded into opposite sides, respectively, of the heel supporting plate 68. The height of the gage I2 is controlled by a screw 18 which is threaded into the yoke 14 and engages a portion of the frame of the machine. Heightwise adjustment of the gage l2 effectively controls the position of the heel upon the plate 68.

Pivoted at the upper ends of a pair of arms 80 (one at each side of the plate 88) is a matrix or wedge-shaped molding plate 82, the pivotal connections between the arms 88 and the molding plate being such that the plate can be moved by the operator with relation to the arms but is frictionally resisted. By depressing a treadle (not shown) the operator causes the arms 80 which are pivoted at their lower ends to the machine frame to force the molding plate with considerable pressure into the groove 58 (Fig. 4) of the heel positioned upon the plate 68, as shown in Fig. 6. When the molding plate 82 has been forced against the bottom of the groove 58, the heel is compressed heightwise between the supporting plate 68 and a tread face engaging abutment 84 secured to the lower end of a plunger 85 slidable in a guideway 88 of the machine frame, the plunger being urged toward the plate 68 b power or, if desirable, by continued operation of the same treadle (not shown) which operates the arms 88.

The molding plate 82, as above stated, is wedge-shaped in cross section, as illustrated in Fig. 9, and is laterally curved, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, in accordance with the transverse curvature of the groove to be formed. As shown in Fig. 8, the molding plate 82 is considerably thicker at its middle portion than it is at its lateral margins. As the molding plate 82 is initially forced into the groove 58 (Fig. 4) of the heel positioned upon the supporting plate 58, the central part of the molding plate causes the groove to be pried open at its middle portion (the lip 60 of the heel yielding) as the molding plate 82 is inserted in the groove.

When the molding plate 82 has been forced against the bottom of the groove 58 (Fig. 4) of the heel, the plunger 86 is depressed causing the heel to be pressed between the supporting plate 58 and the abutment 84, the molding plate 82 in the meantime being held securely in the groove. As the heel is pressed between the supporting plate 68 and the abutment 84, the attaching face of the heel insofar as the curvature of its breast margins may have been modified by the molding plate 82 is molded to the desired shape, the pressure being transmitted through the molding plate which is pressed hard against the lower side of the groove causing the heel material adjacent to said lower side to be compressed, thereby in creasing the width of the groove at its central portion, the increase in width being eifected by the lowering of the middl portion of the lower side of the groove.

The machine for molding the groove 58 forms the subject-matter of and is claimed in an application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 415,100, filed October 15, 1941, in our names.

As above stated, the central part of the groove should be at least as wide as, and preferably a little wider than, the end portions of the groove so that the portion of the reduced rear end portion 26 of the outsole along the breast line 66 shall fill the groove with approximately uniformity and a satisfactory mating between the sole and the heel may be obtained. With the above arrangement, it will be clear that the differences in thickness between the central and marginal portions of said reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole are never so great as to prevent the end portions of the groove from being forced into snug engagement with the sole.

After the heel 30 has been attached to the shoe 24, the lateral margins of the sole projecting beyond the sides of the heel are trimmed flush with said sides. After the joint between the sole and the heel has been finished, such joint is almost imperceptible at the sides of the heel. Since the reduced rear end portion 26 of the sole is firmly embraced between the sides of the groove 32, the joint between the heel and the sole is firm and reliable, particularly if, as is usually the practice, the heel is attached to the shoe by nails, one or more of which extend through the groove of the heel and thus through the reduced rear end portion of the sole, thereby locking the heel and the sole firmly together.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making heels which comprises forming in the breast of a conformable heel a groove which extends from one side of the heel to the other, and molding the groove to a predetermined but different shape approximately complemental to a part of the rear end portion of a short outsole which in a finished shoe is to occupy the groove.

2. That improvement in methods of making heels which comprises cutting in the breast of a heel a groove which extends along the attaching face of the heel and terminates at the opposite sides of the heel, inserting in the groove a mold which is of approximately the same shape as the rear end portion of an outsole which in a finished shoe is to occupy the groove, and causing pressure to be exerted between the attaching and the tread faces of the heel to mold the groove to a predetermined shape in accordance with the shape of said mold.

3. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which comprises cutting in a conformable breast of the heel a groove which extends transversely of the heel from one side of the heel to the other and one side of which terminates approximately at the front edge of the attaching face of the heel, reducing lengthwise the rear end portion of an attached sole of a shoe the lateral margins of which portion are beveled, by a beveling out which is of approximately the same extent lengthwise of the sole from one side of the sole to the other, molding said groove to a form approximately complemental to the reduced rear end portion of the sole which in the finished shoe is to occupy the groove, applying the heel to the shoe and causing the reduced rear end portion of the sole to occupy said groove, and securing the heel to the shoe and the reduced rear end portion of 10 the sole in the groove.

GEORGE HAZELTON. CYRIL HARRY JAMES.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. 4 Patent No. ,700. July 7, 19L

' GEORGE HAZELTON, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 14., first column, lines 5 and 6, claim 5, for"in a conformable breast of the heel" read --in the breast of a conformable heel--; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that'the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of September, A. D. 1914.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

